Perfect
by Streaks of Hail
Summary: Four of our favourite agents take the week off to stay at a lodge by the beach. Romance, fun and all around good times ensue. And trouble. A whole lot of trouble - but they can all safely agree that everything is just perfect.
1. Clink

**SUMMARY:** Four of our favourite agents take the week off to stay at a lodge by the beach. Romance, fun and all around good times ensue. And trouble. There's a lot of trouble - but they can all safely agree that everything is just perfect.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Here is my new story! It's going to be a short little thing, maybe only seven chapters long, maximum. It's just a fun, fluffy story to celebrate season two. Also, I've decided to pick a song for each chapter. _Up We Go_ is the first one, purely because of the lyrics and the upbeat song.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own anything related to Marvel. Not the wonderful characters, not the storyline. Nothing. If I did own it, SHIELD's story lines would probably crumble and turn to hell within the first ten seconds. And the show would probably be discontinued because of horrible writing.

"Everyone here is ready to go,  
It's been a hard year with nothing to show,  
From down this road,  
It's only on we go, on we go."

_Up We Go - Lights_

**DAY ONE: Clink**

"It's so sunny." Skye hears Simmons chirp in the backseat, and she can't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"You better hope so," Triplett adds from his spot in the drivers seat, leaning forward as he swerves into a perfect parking spot. Skye almost snorts at his precision. _Of course _Trip would be good at driving. He was good at everything. "There's nothing worse then going to the beach on a rainy day. You're a Brit, you're just used to the overcast skies."

"That's being stereotypical!" Simmons is quick to defend herself, her voice indignant.

"Relax, Simmons. We're here to have fun on the beach, not argue," Skye laughs as the gentle thrum of the engine turns off, and everyone swings their doors open. As soon as she jumps out, she can safely claim that Simmons is right. It's definitely a sunny day, and the sun beats down on her almost immediately. There's a barely felt breeze that wafts her hair back and forth, but it does nothing against the heat, and it's perfect.

She reaches over to grasp Simmons by the arm, and together they race to the end of the car park to peer over the railings.

"It's beautiful," Simmons murmurs, and Skye can't help but agree. The sea is a beautiful crystal blue, and the waves are just the right height for a day of swimming. The sand is golden, and Skye notes that it's probably perfect for building sandcastles.

Best of all, the beach isn't all too packed. There are several sunburnt families wandering the shore and quite a few sunbathers, but no one is obnoxious, and again, it's _perfect_.

"Guys! You have to come look at this," Skye shouts over her shoulder, only to burst out laughing as she turns just in time to see Fitz drop a bag of towels, and the material flies everywhere.

"Oh, Fitz!" Simmons chides warmly, rushing from her post to help gather everything back up. Skye knows Fitz has been struggling with day to day activities, ever since the.. _pod incident._ He drops things, he sometimes struggles to remember various things, and Skye has noticed that he doesn't wear ties anymore. But they've all learned to accept it and laugh. Besides, Skye doesn't think anything can break the cheerful atmosphere of the beach.

"We'll take a look in a moment, Skye," Triplett chuckles, shaking his head as he pulls a bag from the boot of the SUV that they had borrowed. "But first, let's unpack."

"Urgh, you're boring. I want to get down to the beach!" She groans playfully, leaning back against the rail. They've spent the majority of the day travelling, and she wants to get down for a swim before sunset.

"_Skye_.."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

...

The lodge is nice. Small, but pleasantly nice, with four small bedrooms for each of them - even though it seems spacious compared to their tiny bunks back at the Playground - a common room, a kitchen. The classic layout. The best aspect of the house is the large patio out the back that looks perfectly out onto the sunset, and the crystal clear pool, complete with a tiny minibar and a barbecue.

"This place is amazing," Fitz mutters as Simmons tugs a box from his grasp and sets it gently on the table.

Everyone nods in agreement, although Triplett smirks a moment after. "Where the hell did Coulson get the funds for this? He's been holding back on us."

"Fury owes Coulson a couple of favours, apparently," Skye sing-songs, smug to be the one who knows things for once, instead of FitzSimmons.

"Sounds about right," Triplett nods, dropping his own bags onto the floor.

They spend the next hour sorting out all their luggage and putting away everything. The house becomes very neat and clean, thanks to Triplett and Simmons, or the "neat freaks", as Skye has dubbed them affectionally.

When they eventually all flop at the kitchen breakfast bar, exhausted, it's Skye who perks up first. "To the beach!"

Simmons's eyes light up, and she seems about to leap up and join Skye immediately, but Triplett shakes his head in disapproval.

"It's getting dark, Skye. The water will be cold." A quick look out the french doors soon clears up that Triplett is right, but that doesn't deter Skye. They can go for a night swim, right? Besides, it wasn't that dark, the sun was just setting, casting an amazing swirl of pinks and oranges across the sky.

"_Please_, Trip," Skye wheedles, widening her eyes in a pleading fashion. She sees Triplett hesitate, but the two male agents seem to exchange a silent look, and he shakes his head firmly.

"No."

"Spoilsport. Simmons and I _will_ plot our revenge." Skye threatens, much to FitzSimmon's amusement. She scans the room for a weapon, eventually lunging for a pillow.

It's safe to say that no one escaped from the pillow fight that night. Neither side could decide on who won, but secretly, Skye thought her and Simmons did a pretty impressive job.

...

"Triplett! Don't you dare put that in, Fitz will have a tantrum!" Simmons laughs, attempting to stifle her amusement but failing miserably as she leans over to snatch the chilli that was in Triplett's grasp. It's just her and Triplett in the kitchen, as Fitz and Skye claimed to have no experience what so ever in the kitchen. For Simmons, it was easy to cook. It's just like chemistry, after all. A certain amount of ingredients result in a certain product. She isn't sure about Trip, but he's good at practically everything, so she doesn't doubt him.

"That engineer needs to grow a stomach," Triplett smiles, shaking his head as he chops up herbs and grates cheese.

"He hasn't been able to stomach spicy food since.. well, since as long as I've known him," Simmons elaborates in a friendly fashion, peering into the pot of pasta and watching as it boils.

"We should prank him one night," Triplett suggests, an amused chuckle clearly evident in his voice, and Simmons looks up in him in surprise.

"I think Skye's rubbing off on you," Simmons tells him with a warm smile.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Triplett laughs easily. "But I'll bet you twenty bucks that they're out there plotting something right now."

Instinctively, they both turn to stare out the sliding doors at the silhouettes of Skye and Fitz, sitting cross-legged on the side of the pool. The faint glow from the fairy lights and solar lamps illuminate their shadows, and Simmons can't help but smile at the sight.

"That's sweet. What do you think they're talking about?" She questions curiously.

"I don't know," Triplett admits, having stopped cutting up the herbs to watch the two as well. "And I don't really know if I want to."

"I'm glad they're friends," Simmons says suddenly, turning to him for input. She's not quite sure what's compelled her to say it, but she knows that it's true. She's glad they're friends. Of course, there's nothing quite like the dynamic of her and Fitz, but it's nice to see that he has friends. People who look after him, and people who want to take care of him just as much as she does. It makes her smile.

"Me too, Simmons. Me too."

Simmons is glad that her and Triplett are friends as well. He's been a big help in everything, especially when Fitz had been unwell and she had been in despair.

She's about to tell him this, when there's the familiar wailing of an alarm - the fire alarm, to be exact.

"Triplett! The chicken!"

...

Triplett was wrong. It wasn't cold outside. It was pleasantly warm, with a cool breeze to ward off the intense heat of the day.

Skye made her way to sit next to Fitz, watching as he kicked his leg gently in the water. There was something strangely calming about the ripples in the water.

"Hey," she greets warmly, leaning over to nudge him. She has two cans of coke in her hands, and she offers one to Fitz. "You're quiet today. Not in the holiday spirit?"

Fitz accepts the can with a grateful nod and pops the lid open with a crackle. "Yeah, I guess."

"Is it Triplett?" Skye guesses. She knows that Fitz has been bitter to the other agent before, and she has a strong suspicion that it had something to do with Simmons. Casting a glance back, she sees the culprits themselves panicking over a pot, and then bursting into laughter.

"What?" His surprised tone makes her snap her attention back to him, but he's frowning at her in a puzzled expression. "No. Triplett's fine. He's good."

"Simmons, then?" She prompts, eager to get the truth out of him. She's determined to make everyone enjoy their one week of holiday. It's a special occasion, she is not going to have it spoiled by all the dramas that they've left back at the Playground.

His silence is all she needs, and they sit without speaking for a while, while Skye tries to think of the reason for his being upset. Then suddenly it hits her, and her face splits into a wide grin.

"You told her, didn't you?"

"What?" His expression is so alarmed that Skye wants to laugh out loud.

"You told Simmons. About your feelings."

"W-What? How did you.."

She really does laugh out loud then, purely from his bewildered expression. "It's obvious, Fitz. I think everyone knew, except for Simmons. What did she say?"

There's a pause before he mutters, "we were kind of at the bottom of the ocean. So I don't know."

"Oh." It hits her then, and she feels an overwhelming amount of pity for the engineer. "And you haven't talked about it?"

"No." His face is set, his jaw is tight, and he suddenly lashes out at the water with his foot. And that's when Skye realises - Fitz is upset.

"Fitz. Talk to her. Okay? Don't be scared. Don't you dare be scared, because you were willing to give your life for her. And don't be afraid, because no matter what - she threw herself out of a plane for us. For you. Even if she's not in love with you, she still loves you. You don't have to talk to her now. Or this week. But enjoy yourself, Fitz. When else do we have a beach as our backyard?"

Skye pretends to look away, but she catches Fitz smile out of the corner of her eyes.

"Thanks, Skye."

"Don't sweat it."

...

They're all gathered at the table outside, with the gentle glow of lamps to light up the now completely dark night sky. The chicken has luckily been salvaged, and it actually doesn't taste half bad, even if Fitz won't admit it. It's a nice evening, it's pleasantly warm by the pool, stars glint in the sky and Fitz is surrounded by friends. And it's the best feeling in the world.

Simmons is sitting right next to him, and he's trying desperately to avoid looking at her, because Skye's words keep floating through his head and he can't get rid of them no matter how hard he tries. Because even if Skye had said that he didn't have to tell her now, he still wants to. Because every passing moment in which he doesn't know of her answer gets him more agitated, more anxious, and every signal leaves him more confused.

"This is good," Skye says with a grin, reaching forward to grab another helping of pasta. "Where'd you guys learn to cook like this?"

"My dad," Triplett says smoothly, digging his fork into the pasta. "We used to cook dinner every night after a game of baseball."

"Aww," Skye pouts at Triplett. "Daddy-son bonding time. What about you, Simmons?"

Simmons says something, but Fitz doesn't really listen, instead tilting his head look at her out of the corner of his eye. He doesn't need to hear anyway, he already knows that she's a natural cook, that she applies chemistry to the kitchen.

He reaches for another helping absently, only to be stopped by Simmons's hands and a stern glare. "No, Fitz. You've had enough helpings for today."

"Ah, lay off him, Simmons. You'll have to get him a monkey first," Skye jokes.

"Yeah," Fitz adds helpfully. "If we had a monkey, we could feed him the scraps."

"What makes you so sure that it'll be a male?" Simmons accuses, but she's got a giant smile on her face. It's then that Fitz realises; it's okay. Because no matter what, she'll still be his best friend, and no matter what, she will always be Jemma Simmons.

"Besides, we want to finish this meal," Skye quips cheekily. "We want some more of this amazing cooking, right Fitz?"

He nods all too eagerly, and Simmons pulls a face. "You're being foolish if you think I'm cooking the whole week, Agent Skye. You'll be pulling your weight as well. You and Fitz."

"I agree," Triplett nods breezily. "We should have rotations."

"Me and Simmons are making dessert tomorrow," Skye announces grandly, leaning forward to sling her arm around Simmons's shoulder.

"Fitz in the kitchen? That's a disaster waiting to happen," Simmons laughs.

"I can do perfectly fine in the kitchen!" Fitz says defensively, and there's a round of laughter from around the table.

"Remember the time you accidentally left the oven on? The whole block was called out of the building," she reminds, eyes twinkling merrily.

"It wasn't that bad," Fitz retorts.

"They called the fire brigade."

Skye snorts in laughter, Simmons looks smug, and even Trip looks like he's about to double over in laughter. Fitz frowns pointedly, digging his fork into the food.

"You're jus' picking on me. The lot of you," he mutters.

"You've been quiet today, Fitz," Simmons says. It looks like Skye isn't the only one who noticed. He looks up to meet her gaze, and she gives him a brilliant smile. "It's good to have you back."

Skye promptly raises her can of coke into the air with a content smile. "To good times. And to the fire department."

And they all raise their drinks.

_Clink_.


	2. Splash

**SUMMARY: **Here we are, the next little chapter. I haven't yet seen the premiere, but I heard it was rather depressing, so here is a fun, fluffy chapter for you! Feedback would be lovely, so feel free to add that. Also, thank you for reading, hope you enjoy.

"Bones, sinking like stones  
All that we fought for,  
And homes, places we've grown,  
All of us are done for.  
And we live in a beautiful world,  
Yeah we do, yeah we do."

"Oh, all that I know,  
There's nothing here to run from,  
Cos yeah, everybody here's got somebody to lean on."

_Don't Panic - Coldplay._

**DAY TWO: Splash**

"No, Fitz! Don't-"

A large crash jolts Skye out of her sleep, and she leaps out of her bed and reaches beside her for her gun... only to find her cellphone instead. It's then that she remembers that they're on holiday, and she doesn't need to adopt the May stance, as she likes to call it. She digs through her bag for her backup weapon just in case, relieved to find that it's still exactly where she left it.

She doesn't bother to change, instead stumbling out of her room in her pyjamas and dragging herself to the breakfast bar. Of course, FitzSimmons are up already, attempting to rush around in the kitchen. Except for the fact that there's egg yolk and bits of shell all over the floor, and Fitz is apologising sheepishly.

Simmons is fully dressed already, looking more laid-back and summer-dressed than Skye has ever seen her. Fitz is still in pyjamas, with rumpled hair and an appearance of which hints that Simmons had most likely dragged Fitz out of bed.

Skye has to smile in amusement as they don't even notice her, still bickering over something that probably isn't even important. "Hey guys."

Simmons looks up, her features brightening into a wide smile. "Good morning, Skye!"

"You're up," Fitz mutters, looking equally surprised. "Good. You can tell Simmons that I'm perfectly capable of frying an egg."

"What happened?" Skye asks bemusedly, taking in the bombshell of a mess with a barely suppressed snort of laughter. "And where's Trip?"

"Well, Fitz decided that he would attempt at frying an egg, when obviously his motor skills aren't fine-tuned enough," Simmons begun heatedly, shooting the engineer in question a sharp look as he sulks. "Which resulted in there being a mess all over the floor - which, I might add, we'll have to clean up!"

"It wouldn't have happened if you didn't try and grab the bloody thing from me in the first place, and-"

"Guys. Time out," Skye blurts out, raising her eyebrows and holding her hands out in front of her in a gesture of peace. "Does it matter? Like, seriously? It's just an egg. You can clean it up in.. seconds. So can we.. you know? Calm down?"

"I suppose you're right, Skye," Simmons accepts with a bold smile at Fitz. Just like that, they're back to normal again, something that warms Skye's heart so much she just wants to get up and freaking hug them.

"What'cha making?" Skye inquires curiously, leaning forward on the bench with newfound energy, although her appearance would suggest otherwise.

"Classic eggs and bacon," Simmons puts in eagerly, as she turns to help Fitz crack an egg into the pan. "Let me, Fitz."

"I can do it myself, Jemma," Fitz responds irritably, but he lets her take the ingredient from him gently and continue about cooking.

"You guys are seriously like an-"

"You're finally up, Skye," a voice interrupts, and she turns to see Triplett walk through the french doors with a towel around his neck and droplets of sweat trickling down his neck. Skye pulls a mock face of disgust, recoiling from him.

"Jeez, what have _you_ been doing?"

"I went for a run," Triplett responds simply, raising an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with that?"

"We're on holiday, Trip," Skye rolls her eyes, faintly amused at his tone of voice. "You can stop your martial arts or whatever for one week."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to stay in shape," Triplett shrugs, dropping himself into the barstool beside her easily. "Simmons, you're a chemist. You can vouch."

"Ah, bio-chemist, actually," Simmons corrects brightly, abandoning her cooking with sudden forgetfulness. Skye almost laughs as Fitz is left to sweep behind her and finish up with something resembling a triumphant smile. "As for jogging, well, hell if I would know. Me and Fitz, we were never really-"

"-athletic people. Can't stand those uptight ops specialists, what with their cocky attitude." Fitz pulls a face, and this time both Skye and Triplett laugh. "I mean, no offence Triplett."

"None taken," Triplett says, and in all honesty, Skye would say that he's merely amused. "What kind of things did these specialists get up to, huh?"

"Horrible things," Fitz grumbles, and this time it's Simmons time to swoop in and rescue the cooking. They switch seamlessly, as if it's something they've practised. Which, knowing them, they probably have. "Terrible things. Bloody horrific, the lot of them. They paraded around the school with their silly sunglasses and uptight suits, talking a load of rubbish and feeling up woman."

"They did _not_ feel up woman!" Simmons protests, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, yes they did," Fitz insists heavily, pointing a finger and shooting glances to Skye and Triplett as if they could help him in anyway.

"You're over-exaggerating, Fitz, just because-"

"Do you remember Smith? Do you remember, Simmons?"

"We were dating at the time, Fitz! You thought it would be a lovely idea to waltz in at the wrong moment and-"

"-yeah, well. Look how well that turned out, didn't it?"

Skye and Triplett exchange looks of knowing as the two bicker relentlessly, and they automatically shuffle closer together to share hushed words.

"Do you think they ever.. you know?" Triplett makes various gestures with his hand, and Skye laughs outright, no longer worried about FitzSimmons noticing. They're far too busy arguing anyway.

"Nope," Skye answers simply. "I got it out of Simmons back when we went on a mission once."

"How'd you do that?"

"We were down in the Boiler Room, I got a few drinks into her," Skye explains breezily, although there's a mischevious glint in her eyes.

"The Boiler Room?" Triplett's obviously confused, and Skye realises that he wouldn't have any idea, as he wasn't in the same division as Fitz and Simmons.

"Let's just say that you wouldn't have had it back in your divison."

Triplett looks vaguely scared, but he nods anyway, turning back to Fitz and Simmons. "Watch the pan," he reminds, much to Simmons's alarm, as the two continue their conversation over the pan.

Skye and Triplett share a laugh, and he leans over to nudge her in a friendly fashion. "It could happen."

"It could. But first," she leans over to give him a hard shove, "you stink. Take a bath."

...

"Let's go, c'mon!" Skye and Simmons are already outside and ready to go, complete in bathing suits and towels. They're both dressed in modest swimsuits, thanks to Coulson's csreful supervision on that aspect.

"We could have been faster if you hadn't made us carry all the stuff," Fitz grumbles, appearing from the house with a bag of stuff. He's dressed in swimming shorts, but he's wearing an old top as well, hinting at the fact that Fitz was not intending on swimming.

Triplett follows more smoothly, smirking at the sight. "The beach will still be there in five minutes. We've got the whole week, there's no need to worry."

"Finally, a man with some sense," Fitz sighs, although he doesn't quite look so grumpy when Simmons drifts towards him and hands him a towel with a bright smile.

"It'll be fun, Fitz," Simmons urges, and Skye grins in agreement.

"Yeah, Grumpy. Besides, how much stuff do you guys need?" Skye asks incredulously, peeking inside one of the bags.

"You'd be surprised," Triplett answers by way of explanation. Skye tugs out a whistle from the bottom of the bag, and she raises both eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Hey," Fitz calls defensively. "Who knows when you might need a whistle."

Skye merely rolls her eyes and leans to grab Simmons by the arm. "C'mon, Simmons. Looks like we'll be down at the beach first."

They both dart off down the small sloping path with giggles as they pretend not to hear the others' protests.

...

The gentle roar of the sea got louder as they run towards the crashing waves, each step carving a shape into the sand as Skye and Simmons dash down the beach in a frantic, giggly race.

Skye trips over the sand, much to Simmons's obvious amusement, as she takes the chance to speed down to the waves. Skye leaps to her feet, and using her training she quickly catches up to the bio-chemist. She runs into the waves just seconds after the other girl, much to Simmons's glee.

"You cheated!" Skye yells playfully, lunging for her. Surprisingly, the other woman is rather nimble, darting out of the way quickly.

"You tripped, Skye," Simmons laughs. Skye joins in, staring curiously at Simmons at the same time. The beach atmosphere done something odd to the scientist. Made her more playful, more obliging. More like.. a normal woman, enjoying a day at the beach. Skye has to admit that she likes this fun version of Simmons.

"You probably had Fitz rig up one of his special.. machines so you could win," Skye accuses ridiculously. Purely on impulse, she reaches down and scoops the water up to splash at Simmons with a devilish grin.

She shrieks, but it's one of joy. "Skye!"

"Oops. My hand slipped."

Neither succeeds fully in escaping the waterfight that erupts soon after.

...

"You know, I'm surprised that you're not gawking at Simmons," Triplett remarks slyly. He and Fitz are sitting on the towels in the shade of a propped up umbrella, relatively away from other people. Skye and Simmons are close enough to watch, splashing and swimming in the waves. Triplett doesn't think he's seen them that happy for a long time.

Fitz snaps his head back sharply. "What?"

"Simmons," Triplett grins, gesturing to the woman in question with a jerk of his head. "In a swimsuit."

Fitz's ears start to turn red, and although the sun beats down heavily on them, Triplett is pretty sure it's not because he's sunburnt. "Yeah, well," Fitz mutters, shifting uncomfortably. "It's just a swimsuit. Skye's wearing the same thing."

"That's not what I meant," Triplett laughs, but he drops the topic to reserve Fitz's dignity. "Why aren't you swimming with them?"

"I could say the same for you," Fitz points out.

Triplett turns to give him a kind look, leaning back and resting on the palms of his hands. "Someone's got to look after you."

"I can handle myself," Fitz says quickly, sounding indignant. Triplett has found that sometimes the engineer can be more than just a bit stubborn.

"Of course you can. But don't you want some company? Tell you what, we can go down and splash them. Men onto woman."

"Uh, yeah. You can go. I'll be fine," Fitz says too quickly, and Triplett can tell that something's up. Fitz is avoiding his gaze, shifting uncomfortably, and he seems obstinate on staying away from the water.

"I know we're not the best of friends. But you can tell me anything, you know." Triplett chooses his words carefully, each one deliberate. Sometimes it feels like he's walking on eggshells around Fitz. The engineer hasn't been the same since he was pulled from the bottom of the ocean.

"I'm fine," Fitz answers tightly. "Go join them. I'll... work on my tan."

It's then that Triplett knows he needs to pull in the real forces, and he gets to his feet with an easy smile. "You're welcome to join us."

"Thanks, Trip."

...

"Triplett says you don't want to come and swim."

Simmons begins gently, approaching Fitz with a towel wrapped tightly around her arms. Fitz shifts uncomfortably, and she settles herself next to him, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Snitch," Fitz grumbles, and she can't help but laugh at that. Simmons now knows that it isn't something serious, if he's able to crack a joke and spit out humour.

"You should come and swim with us," she insists kindly, her eyes flickering back to the blue waves and watching in amusement as Skye and Triplett engage themselves in some silly version of water tag.

"It's not.. I don't want to. I'm.. tired." It's obvious that Fitz is covering up something, and she hates it, because they don't often hide things from each other. But it's true that things between them have been different.

"What's wrong?" She shakes her head at him in confusion. Fitz seems adamant not to answer, but Fitz has been rather strange ever since... _the pod incident_. "You're scared."

"I'm not scared," Fitz defends, but after years of spending time with him, Simmons can tell he's lying.

She smiles and places a hand on his arm. He flinches, to her disappointment. "Why didn't you say anything?" Simmons doesn't give him the chance to answer, instead hoisting herself to her feet and holding her arm out for him to grab. "We're going to fix this," she smiles, full well knowing the meaning of her words, "together."

...

The day at the beach is fairly uneventful, but they can all agree that it's just perfect. By the time the sun sets, Fitz is more comfortable with being in the ocean, at least until up to his waist.

Skye leaves Fitz and Triplett to join Simmons, who's packing up the supplies faithfully. "You did a good job," she smiles, and Simmons returns it with a warm one of her own.

"He won't go underwater," Simmons admits, handing Skye a towel. "I'm surprised he listened to me. Fitz can be very stubborn when he sets his mind to it, honestly."

Skye sends Simmons an incredulous look, and she almost lets out a bark of laughter right there. "Are you kidding me, Simmons? I'm pretty sure that Fitz would do anything for you."

"Well.." Simmons pauses, and suddenly Skye knows she's hit just the right spot when Simmons smiles again. "Maybe he would. It's a mutual feeling. He would do the same for you, Skye."

Or maybe she hadn't quite gotten to the bio-chemist. As always, it seems to just slip right over her head. Sometimes Skye wonders how two of the most intelligent people she's met are so clueless. She half thinks about blurting it out to Simmons, if she's honest. It would be easier, after all.

"I'm sure," Skye laughs instead, turning to pluck up a bag. "Oh, Simmons."

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

...

"Are we just going to end everyday with a different drink?" Skye questions as Triplett brings out a special concotion - a smoothie made from the berries that they had nicked from someone's garden when Simmons wasn't watching.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Triplett reasons, giving a shrug as he sat himself down next to Simmons. They're back at their outside table, some takeaway pizza sitting in front of them. They had planned to make dinner, but the day at the beach had worn them out. Skye and Simmons had decided to hold off on dessert until the next day.

"It can become a tradition," Skye muses, nodding in agreement.

"Me and Fitz have been thinking," Simmons starts. Skye leans in curiously. FitzSimmons always have clever ideas, if a bit weird at times. "We can get connection with May and Coulson going. I know we weren't going to contact them, but if we can smother the signal, then.."

"That sounds like a good idea," Skye nods, looking to the others for confirmation. When there's mutual agreement, she grins. "When can you guys get started?"

"We might get it started by tomorrow-"

-if the wi-fi here is good," Fitz puts in. Suddenly, Skye grins, because this is her element and she knows exactly what to do.

"I'm on it."


	3. Cupcake

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **A sweet little chapter including lots of sugar and fun shenanigans by the team. I didn't put too much effort into this one, I must admit, but I just wanted to get it out there, so sorry if it wasn't up to par.

"Let's light it up, let's light it up  
Until our hearts catch fire  
And so the world, a burning light  
They've never shined so bright  
We'll find a way, we'll find a way  
To keep the cold night  
From breaking in over the walls  
Into the wild side  
The hunger satisfies."

_Lovers On The Sun - David Guetta_

**DAY THREE: Cupcake**

"Well, me and Fitz ran into a _tiny_ bit of a problem while in the kitchen," Simmons begins with a squeak in her voice, and Skye almost expects her to tell them that they had accidentally set the kitchen on fire. Honestly, she wouldn't put it past FitzSimmons. She'd probably be more surprised if their little holiday didn't have some bizarre event halfway through.

"Spit it out, Simmons," Skye laughs, not necessarily worried, although Triplett looks concerned. He obviously hasn't been around them long enough, she notes with a snort. They're lazing by the pool, soaking up the rays of sun in the morning before it gets too hot later in the day.

"It appears that Fitz and I may have forgotten to pack one or two of the bags of food?" Simmons's words come out almost like a question, her features scrunching up into a hopeful wince.

"So.. you're saying that we've pretty much run out of food?" Skye asks slowly, and Simmons nods regretfully in response.

"I'd just like to say that this had nothing to do with me," Fitz adds cheerfully, and he receives an affronted glare from Simmons for his efforts. Skye mentally kicks back with a bag of popcorn to watch the inevitable argument that's about to brew up, because when FitzSimmons argue, it's _good_.

"Fitz! You have just about as much to do with this situation as me!" Simmons protests, and before the fight can really get started Triplett interrupts, much to Skye's disappointment. It's always amusing when the scientists get into one of their loveable arguments.

"Guys, please," Triplett holds up his hands as a sign for them to stop, although he's chuckling as well. "It's no big deal, Simmons. We can drive down to the local store and pick up some groceries for the rest of the week. We've got enough money, I'm sure Coulson won't mind."

"On the plus side, we can pick whatever junk food we want," Skye put in brightly. "None of that healthy crap that May gave us."

Simmons suddenly looks offended. "I helped pick out that food, Skye!"

Her smile freeze's on her face, and she moves over to sling her arm around her fellow agent's shoulders casually. "Whoops. On second thought, maybe Trip and Fitz can head down to the store. Me and Simmons can have a girl's day, maybe start on the dessert with the ingredients we have left?"

Simmons starts to smile, and everyone nods in agreement. "That's a lovely idea, Skye."

"For once," Fitz adds cheekily, and Skye throws a pillow at him.

...

"Triplett... do you actually _know_ where the shops are?"

Fitz peers out the window, squinting as the sun decides to shine right in his eyes for the joy of it. _It's like even Mother Nature enjoys tormenting me_, he thinks with a grumpy huff. After speaking, he twists his head to give Triplett a questioning stare, watching as the taller man twists the wheel and looks around with all the ease in the world.

"Not really," he admits with a smile, "but can it honestly be that hard to find? Google maps said that it was a tiny suburb town with a good supermarket. We'll be fine."

"Yeah. Sure," Fitz says doubtfully, the scorn heavy as they draw up to a dead end. "It can't be that hard, right? Difficult enough to drive into a dead end."

"You're a helpful man, aren't you?" Triplett grins, backing the car out and driving further out with even a flush at his mistake. He was just _so_ suave. "Maybe we should just use the GPS."

"No," Fitz says suddenly, shaking his head even though he knows Triplett can't really see it. "We're agents of SHIELD, for God's sake. We can find our way to a bloody shop."

He changes his mind quickly when they turn out to be winding around in a circle, and they end up right where they started.

...

"So.." Simmons starts anxiously, tapping on the arm of her chair. "What are we supposed to do on a girl's day, exactly?"

"I don't know," Skye answers truthfully, leaning back in her chair and kicking her legs up to rest them on the coffee table. Simmons doesn't comment, but the hacker knows that it bugs Jemma. That's part of the reason she does it, really.

"You don't?" Simmons shoots her a shocked look, and Skye can't help but laugh, tilting her head back as the sound echoes around the room.

"Why are you so surprised? I was raised in an orphanage, remember?" She reminds gently. It's true. Skye has never really experienced sleepovers or the such. Living in an orphanage was kind of different, and she couldn't really invite her friends over to a desolate place where kids without parents lived. Not that she'd had too many friends, either. The few friends she'd actually maintained never really bothered to invite her over, and if she was honest, most of them had been boys anyway. "What about you? What's your excuse?"

Simmons gave a small smile, and she shrugs. "I didn't have too many friends my age," she explains. "And when I finally got some, I moved on to a higher school. I was smarter than everyone else, so I got placed with older children. By the time I started to make some proper friends.. well, Fitz had taken priority. He's not exactly girl-material."

"No, he's definitely not," Skye agrees meaningfully, but Simmons is already hung up on another idea, jumping to her feet.

"Baking!"

"What?" Skye frowns as Simmons tugs her out of the chair enthusiastically, dragging her over to the kitchen.

"Let's do some baking! Our family used to do it all the time. And while I was listing all the food products we have," Skye resists the urge to roll her eyes; trust Simmons to list all the food items, "I noticed that we had just enough to make cupcakes."

"Cupcakes?" Skye scoffs incredulously, raising her eyebrows as Simmons scurries around the kitchen to grab various ingredients. "Seriously?"

"Don't knock the cupcakes, Skye," Simmons reprimands all too seriously, pulling a ceramic bowl from the cupboard under the bench. "It's a family recipe."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Yeah, I'm sure the cupcakes are delicious, Simmons. Watch the flour!"

...

"This supermarket's pretty big," Triplett muses, as they push the carr through various aisles, skimming the shelves for various products. Simmons and Skye had organised a list, and so they check that whenever they need to remember something.

"Yeah, well it took us long enough to get here," Fitz mutters good-naturedly, frowning at food prices. His eyes widen as he spots a packet of biscuits and he scoops it up excitedly. "Look! They're monkeys. We have to get these."

Triplett shakes his head, although there's a faintly amused smile on his features. "No, Fitz. That's not healthy. Can you imagine what Simmons would say?"

"Just allow me these tiny precious things," Fitz pleads. "You know, no one ever got me a monkey when I was recovering from a head injury.."

The monkey cookies end up in the cart, amongst many other sugary treats that had not been on the list.

More trouble comes when Fitz glances at the list again. He flushes red instantly and presses the paper into Triplett's hand, blanching an embarrassing shade of pink. Triplett chuckles as he reads down the list.

"Tampons? Seriously, Fitz? You want to get edgy about that sort of stuff?"

"Shut up," Fitz defends, although it's pretty much useless with the tell-tale tips of his ears turning red. "It's just.. weird."

"Would you rather we didn't get them?" Triplett raises an eyebrow, and Fitz gives a tiny shudder.

"Fine. But that's only because Simmons gets terribly cranky."

"You know the days?"

"Wait - no, I didn't-"

Triplett drops the topic with a smile, but he can't prevent the cashier from asking whether the items in question are for their girlfriends.

...

Simmons peers at the cupcakes in the oven anxiously, blinking at them through the dark-rimmed window. Skye pops up behind her with a spoon, licking the contents from the top.

"Hey, this tastes pretty good."

Simmons whirls around and sends a disapproving look in the other girl's way, releasing a small good-natured sigh from her lips. "Skye! We're supposed to be saving the icing for the cupcakes, not to eat right now!"

Skye grins unashamedly, waving the spoon in the air with a playful shrug. "I was just testing it, Simmons. It tastes really good. Is this really a family recipe?"

"One and only," Simmons smiles, grabbing a cloth to wipe down the floury bench and crinkling her nose. They'd certainly made a big mess in the process of baking cupcakes. Nevertheless, it would be worth it, Simmons is sure.

"And you're not.. I don't know, breaking any familiy traditions by sharing this with me? Because I'll leave the cupcake eating to you if it means I get to live a little longer."

They share a laugh, and Simmons shakes her head, throwing the cloth at Skye playfully. "You're a _friend_, Skye. I have absolutely no objections to sharing a recipe with a friend. Besides, I've already shown Fitz, and he's fine, isn't he?"

"Of _course_ you've shown Fitz already. Why is he always first?" Skye pouts with a roll of her eyes and she receives a light laugh for her efforts.

...

They're about to start icing the cakes when Triplett and Fitz stumble in with bags upon bags of groceries, and they have to abandon everything to help put everything away. Skye peeks inside a bag curiously and can't help but chortle at the amount of treats stuffed into one bag, obviously meant to be hidden from Simmons. Well, Skye isn't about to help the boys. It's funny when Simmons gets mad, although her health lectures do get a bit boring after the first ten minutes.

"Seriously, how much sugar did you cram into one bag?" Skye plucks a bottle of fizzy drink from the bag with a smirk, setting it on the table with a direct look to Simmons. To her surprise, there's no huff or glare at Fitz, nor a health lecture. Instead, Simmons's eyes brighten and she grabs for a bag of caramel popcorn.

"I've been craving these for so long now," Simmons laughs, tearing open the bag and offering them to everyone.

Skye can't pin it down to mere coincidence, and sure enough when she looks to Fitz, he's got a knowing smirk on his face, and Triplett seems mildly impressed.

When they finish packing away the food, they bring out the cupcakes and the icing, and they set to work decorating the treats.

Simmons tailors hers to perfection, Triplett's are plain but delicious, Fitz covers each and every one he can lay his hands on in monkey biscuits, and Skye goes nuts with the candy sprinkles and icing. By the end of the session, everyone has a dab of pink icing on their nose and sprinkles in their hair.

"This is going to take me forever to wash out of my hair," Triplett jokes, and they all laugh purely because the atmosphere is bright and cheerful, and enough sugar can do miracles for anyone.

"These cupcakes are amazing, Simmons," Skye grins, peering at her overloaded cupcake with a sense of giddiness that only comes with the consumption of too many sweet goods.

"You helped to make them too," Simmons reminds with a laugh, leaning to wipe traces of icing from Fitz's curls.

"Probably why they tasted funny," Fitz mutters teasingly, and he ends up with a cupcake to the face.

"Don't knock the cupcakes," Skye and Simmons chime together. "It's a family recipe."


End file.
